The co-pilot of the Nepalese plane who died 16 years after her husband in an accident on the same airline

The co-pilot of the flight that crashed on Sunday in Nepal she had lost her husband in another accident suffered by the same airline 16 years earlier.

Anju Khatiwada was the second in command of Yeti Airlines Flight 691, which plunged into a gorge near the tourist city of Pokhara. An accident in which all the occupants of the aircraft died and which has become the worst air disaster in the Asian country in 30 years.

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Khatiwada’s husband, Dipak Pokhrel, also died while in the cockpit of a Yeti Airlines flight that crashed. It was the loss of her that had prompted her to go into aviation.

Alone with her young son, the woman turned pain into her motivating force.

“She was a determined woman who stood up for her dreams and fulfilled her husband’s,” said Santosh Sharma, a family member.

Pokhrel was in the cockpit of a Twin Otter propeller plane carrying rice and food to the western city of Jumla when it crashed and burst into flames in June 2006. nine people who were on board.

Four years later, his widow was on her way to becoming a pilot. After overcoming many obstacles, she managed to travel to the United States to train and once qualified, she joined Yeti Airlines.

Tragedy within another tragedy

Khatiwada was one of six women working as pilots at the airline and had flown nearly 6,400 hours.

Recovery efforts for the 72 victims of the Yeti Airlines crash continue and relatives crowd the hospital gates awaiting the remains of their loved ones. (GETTY IMAGES).

“She was an airline captain and she had done solo flights,” said Sudarshan Bartaula of Yeti Airlines. “She was a brave woman,” he concluded.

Khatiwada remarried and had a second child while building her career as an aviator.

Friends and family said she loved her job and was a joy to be around. The fact that she and her first husband died in this way is a tragedy within another tragedy.

At the crash site in Pokhara, parts of the plane that crashed on Sunday still lie strewn on the banks of the Seti River.

A small part of the aircraft rests above the gorge, with the windows intact and the green and yellow Yeti Airlines livery still visible.

debate reopened

The tragedy has reignited the debate over air safety in the Himalayan country, where hundreds of people have died in plane crashes in recent decades.

The Nepalese authorities have not yet reported on what could be the causes of the plane crash. (GETTY IMAGES).

Over the years, various causes have been considered for the poor safety of Nepali airlines. The mountainous terrain and climate, often unpredictable and difficult to navigate they are frequently cited to explain accidents such as the one that occurred last Sunday.

However, some offer other equally important reasons, such as the age of the aircraft fleet, lax regulations, and poor oversight.

It is not yet clear what caused the crash on Sunday.

Outside the Pokhara hospital, the families of the deceased waited for the bodies of their relatives to be handed over after autopsies were completed.

The singer Nira Chantyal is among the 72 deaths in what is considered the worst air tragedy recorded in Nepal in 30 years. (Courtesy).

In the cold January air, Bhimsen Ban said he hoped he could soon bring his friend Nira back to her village so she could be seen off.

Nira Chantyal, 21, was a singer and often flew with Yeti Airlines. Low-cost air transport has become an affordable and popular way to travel by the mountainous nation for the middle class.

Nira, who had transferred to Kathmandu, was traveling on that flight to perform at a music festival in Pokhara.

“She was a very talented artist and used to sing folk songs. She often sang spontaneously,” Bhimsen said, her eyes red from crying.

“I have no words to describe the loss,” he finished.

Additional reporting by Rajneesh Bhandari and Andrew Clarance.

Source: Elcomercio